Scintillating Silhouette

Half term week’s holiday didn’t deter ISS Wildlife Club from continuing their adventurous field trips.  Thanks to Hilton Hotels and excellent organization by P.T.A chairperson Karin Steiner, the intrepid environmentalists discovered the natural beauties of Silhouette.  Island Conservation Society ecologists from Belgium and Mauritius explained all about the critically endangered sheath-tailed bats…only 100 remain on Mahe and Silhouette combined.  An excellent film led to a Q and A session.  The adventure continued with a forest hike on a recently laid trail through the recently planted endemic forest above the Dauban Mauseleum.  Other highlights of the day included finding a rare caecilian burrowing amphibian, sightings of whimbrel, greenshank and a crab plover along with the sand eels it was looking for.

The pilot whale skeleton at the ICS office was also of much interest.  Congratulations to the club for enduring the ‘lumpy’ boat crossings and many thanks from all of us to the Hilton staff for use of their facilities.